Promises To Keep

COMMUNITY FAMILIES

Ministry Unites Men, Urges Them To Be Responsible Role Models.

While many American males may be confused about their roles in today's society, Christian men in Palm Beach County are joining a national organization to search for answers.

Men such as Dan Colucci and Tom Scanlan of Boca Raton, and Chuck Luca of West Palm Beach.

They are among the members of Promise Keepers, a nondenominational, multiracial, national Christian ministry that is uniting men and encouraging them to become more responsible role models.

One of the biggest problems facing the country today, Luca said, is a "lack of active leadership of men in their homes, families, churches and communities."

Through the local Promise Keepers chapter, men are making promises to themselves and to their families to make things better. Promises they intend to keep.

Bill McCartney, former football coach at University of Colorado, started the organization four years ago. Last year, the organization sponsored huge rallies in major cities, including Boulder's Folsom Stadium and Indianapolis' Hoosier Dome.

This year, the organization plans a rally on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Thunderdome in Tampa-St. Petersburg.

During the event, men from all walks of life heard speeches flavored with biblical anecdotes, then opened up to God and to each other.

Afterward, local men returned to their homes and churches, and made commitments to their families and their congregations.

Since then, local churches have responded by sponsoring smaller, informal gatherings. There, men are talking and praying and working to become better husbands, fathers and citizens.

Among the local churches taking the lead:

-- Palm Beach Cathedral in Lake Park.

Ron Guncheon of West Palm Beach, who attended the Hoosier Dome rally, has worked with cathedral members to sponsor meetings.

"I had felt my house out of order a year ago," Guncheon said. "Promise Keepers makes you aware of a lot of responsibilities."

-- Boca Raton Community Church.

"For years, the men's group at church was a bunch of older guys getting together for breakfast once a month," Scanlan said. With the advent of Promise Keepers, that has changed.

"Now, guys talk about things that guys don't [usually) talk about in our society," such as the pressure they feel to be succeed, and the stigma attached to asking for help. While women have support groups, "Guys are raised to be John Wayne or the Lone Ranger," Scanlan said.

Through the Promise Keepers organization, men can become more aware of their weaknesses, and gain strength from each other.

"One of the things that Promise Keepers stress is accountability - keeping each other on track spiritually, and helping each other to be good husbands and fathers," said Scanlan, the father of a toddler son.

The county chapter already is helping fathers establish better relationships with their sons.

While attending a meeting at Boca Raton Community Church, several fathers realized their children are attending the same school. A new "Kids Promise Keepers" has emerged.

"We take our sons out and have breakfast and talk about things kids relate to in their lives," Dan Colucci said. "They seem to thrive on it, and want to it more often."

The fathers and sons in south county hope to branch out and include more in central county.

Colucci said he already can see improvements in his family, thanks to Promise Keepers.

"It's given me hope that there are other men striving for the same things I am," he said.

His wife, Kris Colucci, applauds his efforts. "When he came back from Indianapolis, I knew I would also benefit from the experience," she said. The encouragement her husband gets from other men "overflows into the family," she said. "He gets recharged."

The organization's focus on encouraging men to help each other is important, Kris Colucci said.

"Men don't normally communicate like women do," she said. "Promise Keepers encouraged them to be men of integrity - to be faithful to what they say."